Edward Stanford
Library Map of the World, 1885
37 ½ x 67 in
95 x 170 cm
95 x 170 cm
WLD4816
Spectacular folding wall map of the world on Mercator's Projection highlighting winds and oceanography. Printed colour. Stanford's Library maps were the firm's prestige items. Large, spectacular, and extremely accurate, they...
Spectacular folding wall map of the world on Mercator's Projection highlighting winds and oceanography. Printed colour.
Stanford's Library maps were the firm's prestige items. Large, spectacular, and extremely accurate, they were both an advertisement for the firm as well as very expensive, aimed at the very top of their market. Thus, these Library maps were most likely to be seen by very wealthy and or powerful individuals. Initially there were Library maps of the world, the continents, Australasia and London but other areas were added as the firm prospered. They were also constantly updated in new editions to reflect the rapidly changing political order of the world. The ability to convey this information rapidly was provided by the new invention of the cable telegraph, a feature which is clearly marked on many of the maps.
This Library Map of the World on Mercator's Projection encapsulates the philosophy that Stanford employed for his project. It is a large folding map that could be practically stored inside a custom made case on a bookshelf to be taken out and examined upon necessity; or it could be pinned onto a wall or even put within a wooden frame to be permanently displayed. Centered on the Atlantic, it shows the United Kingdom in the middle of the world; reflecting Victorian fascination with the sciences, it is as geographically accurate as current information could make it and adds new natural phenomena such as the direction of the trade winds and ocean currents and the timing of the monsoon in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. All of this reflects an increasing interest in oceanography. Although the study of this science was in its infancy, it was gathering momentum as scholars turned their attention to the mystery of the seas. On a more practical level, the steamboat mail routes between Europe and the rest of the world as well as positions and number of submarine cables are given great prominence. This again emphasizes scientific progress throughout both the British Empire and the rest of the world. Politically, the map is as up to date as possible and as usual, the British Empire is marked in red. All of the above is summarised in a text panel on the lower centre. As with all the Library maps, it has been coloured contemporaneously to its issue and, in a serious scholastic way, it is very attractive.
The earliest example of this map that we can track is 1879, held by the British Library; from then on, it was issued into the 1920s although its style and appearance had greatly changed by that point. This is the 1885 edition sold with its original case.
General toning. Some pinholes. Minor damage to some folds. Folded. [WLD4816]
Stanford's Library maps were the firm's prestige items. Large, spectacular, and extremely accurate, they were both an advertisement for the firm as well as very expensive, aimed at the very top of their market. Thus, these Library maps were most likely to be seen by very wealthy and or powerful individuals. Initially there were Library maps of the world, the continents, Australasia and London but other areas were added as the firm prospered. They were also constantly updated in new editions to reflect the rapidly changing political order of the world. The ability to convey this information rapidly was provided by the new invention of the cable telegraph, a feature which is clearly marked on many of the maps.
This Library Map of the World on Mercator's Projection encapsulates the philosophy that Stanford employed for his project. It is a large folding map that could be practically stored inside a custom made case on a bookshelf to be taken out and examined upon necessity; or it could be pinned onto a wall or even put within a wooden frame to be permanently displayed. Centered on the Atlantic, it shows the United Kingdom in the middle of the world; reflecting Victorian fascination with the sciences, it is as geographically accurate as current information could make it and adds new natural phenomena such as the direction of the trade winds and ocean currents and the timing of the monsoon in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. All of this reflects an increasing interest in oceanography. Although the study of this science was in its infancy, it was gathering momentum as scholars turned their attention to the mystery of the seas. On a more practical level, the steamboat mail routes between Europe and the rest of the world as well as positions and number of submarine cables are given great prominence. This again emphasizes scientific progress throughout both the British Empire and the rest of the world. Politically, the map is as up to date as possible and as usual, the British Empire is marked in red. All of the above is summarised in a text panel on the lower centre. As with all the Library maps, it has been coloured contemporaneously to its issue and, in a serious scholastic way, it is very attractive.
The earliest example of this map that we can track is 1879, held by the British Library; from then on, it was issued into the 1920s although its style and appearance had greatly changed by that point. This is the 1885 edition sold with its original case.
General toning. Some pinholes. Minor damage to some folds. Folded. [WLD4816]
